The World At Your Doorstep Part 5: The Planning Process - First Things First

Posted by on 22 May 2010
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The first step in planning your motorhome touring holiday is, perhaps obviously, that of deciding where – and when – you will be planning to go. Many of you already know the answers to the “where and when”, but here are some things to consider for those who are still trying to figure that out (and to help polish the thinking of those who already have made their decisions):

Let’s start by confusing things. If you haven’t already done so, we suggest you go to the home page of this website and look around a little. You are likely to soon be feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of the options, but there is an important point here: the “where” of a motorhome touring holiday is pretty much an open book.

We say “pretty much an open book” because there are factors which will help you zero in on the perfect place, and the perfect time of year, for your motorhome touring holiday:

First, think about what time of year you will be taking your holiday:

In most – if not all – areas you are likely to find the most dependable weather during “peak season” or “high season”. That is also when you’ll find the biggest crowds, the highest costs, and the most limited availability of both rental units and campsites.

At the other end of the desirability scale are those times viewed as “off season”. Generally speaking, “off season” is tourism speak for “rotten weather” and not a desirable time for a motorhome touring holiday.

Our personal favorite time for travel is frequently referred to as “shoulder season” - a 30 to 60 day window of time on either side of “high season”. This is a period during which you’ll often find the best weather of the year, smaller crowds, greater availability of both rental units and campsites, and significantly lower costs.

Next, your destination should make sense relative to the amount of time you have available to holiday. Example: If you live in the UK, it probably doesn’t make effective use of either your time or your money to fly to New Zealand for a one week motorhome touring holiday.

Finally, for most of us there are budget considerations. The factors here, as they relate to our topic, are obvious: Long holidays in distant locations are more expensive than shorter trips closer to home. Traveling during high season is more expensive than travel during the shoulder seasons.

Returning to our original point: It seems to us that the objective is to first decide where, and when, you would like to go, what you would like to do. Then, having decided that, we suggest that you make use of this site to help make that dream trip even better – to get the most out of your holiday by traveling and living in a motorhome!

$AVING$ TIP$

The central point in the overall cost of your holiday is where you decide to go touring. As you sort through possible destinations, keep in mind the obvious - some places are simply more expensive to visit than others. A high cost area will generally be more affordable when touring in a motorhome; however, it is still likely to make for a more costly trip than some of the less expensive destinations.

About Dave & Kay Corby

Dave & Kay Corby literally wrote the book on travel in a rental RV, motorhome, campervan or travel trailer: "RV Rentals: A Vacationer's Guide". Use this link for special pricing and to find out what others have had to say about their comprehensive book.